Bubble pipe



March 12; 1946. L. G. PIMBLETT "2,396,433

BUBBLE PIPE Filed July 30, 1945 Patented Mar. 12, 1946 BUBBLE PIPE Lewis George Pimblett, Harbord, New South Wales, Australia Application July 30, 1945, Serial No. 607,708 In Australia January 27, 1945 7 Claims.

This invention relates to bubble pipes and has for its object the provision of a bubble pipe toy whereby very large bubbles(up to two feet or more in diameter)-may be blown, whereby bubbles may be securely retained pendent from the pipe during blowing, and whereby the user may easily view a bubble being blown,

Existing bubble pipes, or ordinary tobacco pipes used for blowing bubbles, are defective consequent upon inability for sustained retention of a bubble being blown and because they include no adequate provision for feeding bubble-forming liquid into the bubble to provide material for its growth. Ordinary tobacco pipes in particular, by reason of their smoothness and nonporosity, give rise to the defects stated. Clay bubble pipes are slightly less objectionable because their porous nature provides some reservoir for a limited quantity of bubble liquid. This reservoir eflect, however, is insufilcient to prevent bubbles from collapsing, or leaving the pipe, while they are still relatively small.

According to the present invention, the bowl of a bubble pipe is made of any selected material of smooth surface, non-porous or otherwise, and includes means providing a reservoir for bubbleforming liquid. In a preferred embodiment a bubble pipe according to the subject invention also includes suctional means which influences a bubble to remain connected with the pipe bowl.

A subject bubble pipe may consist of a moreor-less conventionally formed bowl and a tubular stem. The stem may be of any length, although, for preference, it is at least fourteen inches in length so that the user may readily observe the rowing bubble and also avoid impedin large bubble growth by body contact. The pipe bowl, at its open end, is furnished with a peripheral flange. The top of this flange (that is, the uppermost face thereof when the bowl is inverted for pendent bubble blowing) has an annular trough or channel formed therein. This trough or channel has one or more fine-bore drain holes therein which enable flow of bubble-forming liquid to the opposite or bubble forming face of the flange. The bubble forming face of the flange has a multiplicity of cavities with blind ends drilled or otherwise formed therein. The flange may project radially either inwardly or outwardly of the pipe bowl and when such flange is outwardly directed, the drain hole or holes may communicate with the interior of the bowl.

For a more complete understanding of the instant invention, one exemplary embodiment thereof will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of said embodiment,

Figure 2 is an underside plan view (enlarged) of the bowl element of Figure 1 and Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical section through said bowl.

In this drawing references 4 and 5 designate bowl and stem elements of a bubble pipe, the rim of said bowl being formed with an outwardly directed flange 6 and the bore of said stem being in communication with the interior of said bowl.

The upper face of said flange is annularly grooved, troughed or channelled as at I while the normally lower face 8 of said flange-i. e. the annular rim face of the bowl 4is formed with a circular array of blind cavities 9. At least one small-diameter drain hole 10 provides for flow of bubble forming liquid from the channel 1 to the interior of bowl 4.

In use, the flanged end of the bowl 4 is dipped into bubble liquid so as to pick up a conventional skin of liquid extending over the mouth of said bowl and also so as to charge the channel 1 with a reserve quantity of bubble-forming liquid,

During this initial operation the cavities 9 also become slightly charged with said liquid.

Then, on blowing through the stem 5 bubble growth begins in the usual manner but will proceed beyond--normal expectations owing to the reserve liquid in the trough or channel I gradually draining through the hole ID to be progressively fed to the interior of the forming bubble.

While the bubble is being formed, some of the liquid in cavities 9 drains into the growing bubble thereby promoting additional bubble growth and at the same time creating a vacuum efiect at each of said cavities to influence retention on the bowl of abnormally large bubbles.

I claim:

1. A bubble pipe comprising a bowl, a stem having a through bore in communication with the interior of said bowl, a reservoir for containing a supply of bubble-forming liquid, means, enabling flow of said liquid: from said reservoir to the rim 3. A bubble pipe comprising a bowl, a stem having a through bore in communication with the interior of said bowl, an annular trough extending radially from the rim of said bowl, at least one drain passage enabling flow of bubbleforming liquid from said trough to said rim, and suctional means on said rim for influencing a bubble to remain connected with said rim.

4. A bubble pipe comprising a bowl, a stem having a through bore in communication with the interior of said bowl, an annular flange extending outwardly from the rim of said bowl, the normally upper face of said flange being of trough formation, and at least one drain passage enabling flow of bubble-forming liquid from said trough formation to the interior of said bowl.

5. A bubble pipe comprising a bowl, a stem having a through bore in communication with the interior of said bowl, an annular flange extending outwardly from the rim of said bowl, the normally upper face of said flange being of trough formation, at least one drain passage enabling bubble-forming liquid to flow from said trough formation to the interior of said bowl, and suctional means on said rim for influencing a bubble to remain connected with said rim.

6. A bubble pipe comprising a bowl, a tubular stem of which the lumen is in communication with the interior of said bowl, an outwardly directed annular flange extending from the rim of said bowl, the normally upper face of said flange being of trough formation and the opposite face of said flange being provided with a circular array of blind cavities, and at least one drain passage enabling flow of bubble-forming liquid from said trough formation to the rim of said bowl.

7. The invention according to claim 6 and wherein said tubular stem is of suflicient length to enable the formation of said bowl of an abnormally large bubble without the probability of said bubble making contact with the user of said pipe.

LEWIS GEORGE PIMBLE'I'I. 

